Sake

I am currently reading through 1 Peter 1. I invite you to open your Bible and read along with me or find it online here.

1 Peter 1

13 For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority - whether the king as head of state,

14 or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.

15 It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.

16 For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.

17 Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God, and respect the king.

Sake. When we put our trust in Jesus, we also surrender the leadership of our lives. As a result, there will be times in our journey when we are asked by God to do something that doesn’t make sense to us ... giving away money, forgiving people that have hurt us, loving people that hate us ... “for the Lord’s sake”. That is why I love (and respect) this passage so much ... Peter was challenging others to respect the authority of a government that was persecuting them, “for the Lord’s sake”. Don’t give in to your logic, trust God’s leadership.

Crave

I am currently reading through 1 Peter. I invite you to open your Bible and read along with me or find it online here.

1 Peter 2

1 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.

2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,

3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness.

Crave. What you crave goes a long way in determining the direction of your life. My prayer is that you would crave God’s Word ... “pure spiritual milk”. If you don’t, ask God to change the desires of your heart so they match the desires of His heart. In the meantime, please continue to journey with us ... by being in God’s Word on a daily basis you allow Him to reveal His heart.

Trust

This past weekend, Jonathan continued our “How To Be Rich” series. He used Paul’s writings to remind us all of an important challenge.

1 Timothy 6

17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.

Trust. Where does your trust lie ... in God or in your stuff? That is the heart of this past weekend’s message. Each week, we have been building a thought that Jonathan has asked us to repeat. I invite you to repeat what we have so far .. “God has blessed me with more than I need. I am rich; but I will not trust my riches. I will trust the one who richly provides.”

Love

I am currently reading through 1 Peter. I invite you to open your Bible and read along with me or find it online here.

1 Peter 1

21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.

22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.

Love. As we learn more and more about God, we should become more and more loving toward others. It should be a direct correlation ... the more you learn, the more you love. If you haven’t found that to be true in your journey, you might want to rethink your steps.

Holy

I am currently reading through 1 Peter. I invite you to open your Bible and read along with me or find it online here.

1 Peter 1

13 So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.

14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.

15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.

16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

Holy. Last week, Peter talked about our “priceless inheritance” and the “wonderful joy” that lies ahead. In light of all that, he now challenges us to live lives that are holy ... lives that are pure, lives that are different, lives that are “a cut above” our old way of living. My prayer is that you will seek holiness in your life ... not out of obligation or an attempt to earn what you have been freely given; but as a response to the grace and love you have received.